Thank you for the interview.
I think she takes care of supposedly enormous pressure on her sholders really well.
I was surprised to hear Yu-Na say that she had not felt so much pressure ahead of olympics because she was well prepared.
Anyway, now she is truely relieved and happy.

Thank you for the interview.
I think she takes care of supposedly enormous pressure on her sholders really well.
I was surprised to hear Yu-Na say that she had not felt so much pressure ahead of olympics because she was well prepared.
Anyway, now she is truely relieved and happy.

If she sticks around for Sochi, no one else will even have a chance of catching her...

That would be something for any Olympic Gold Medalist to stay on for another Olympic event. Yuna has always said she wants to be remembered as a great figure skater. Five World Championships and 2 OGM would do it, I would say

It will be great if she can stay, although I think Mirai will catch up soon. She's the future!

It's hard to say she will have no competition, because who knows what 4 years will behold. There are a lot of up and coming skaters. Some of them might just get better as time goes by and of course they are younger which is always an advantage in figure skating. Both Kwan and Witt found it harder to hold on as they aged because of their bodies.

If she sticks around for Sochi, no one else will even have a chance of catching her...

If she decides to keep competing at the level she is now, the biggest battle for Sochi won't be against other competitors, it will be against her body. She's already suffered through years of pain and training and has earned the most well-deserved OGM I've ever witnessed... but if she wants another OGM in 4 years, I can't see how her body would hold up doing countless more 3Lz combinations, and then adding in a 3A as well? It would definitely be exciting to see her at another Olympics... and after discovering that there's another 12 year old phenom coming from Korea who won Nationals there this year, there could even eventually be some action at their Nationals (for ladies at least)... but it would be more realistic for Yu-Na to not compete in the Grand Prix circuit all 4 of the years leading up to Sochi and to train primarily for Worlds so she can stay injury free. *fingers crossed*

If she decides to keep competing at the level she is now, the biggest battle for Sochi won't be against other competitors, it will be against her body. She's already suffered through years of pain and training and has earned the most well-deserved OGM I've ever witnessed... but if she wants another OGM in 4 years, I can't see how her body would hold up doing countless more 3Lz combinations, and then adding in a 3A as well? It would definitely be exciting to see her at another Olympics... and after discovering that there's another 12 year old phenom coming from Korea who won Nationals there this year, there could even eventually be some action at their Nationals (for ladies at least)... but it would be more realistic for Yu-Na to not compete in the Grand Prix circuit all 4 of the years leading up to Sochi and to train primarily for Worlds so she can stay injury free. *fingers crossed*

Yuna appears to be really healthy this year - she has this radiant, glowing quality about her and physically she looks very fit, not as frail as she used to look. You are right about the young skaters though, there are a lot of up and comers so who knows what could happen. I didn't realized Min-Jung Kwak went to Jr Worlds last year and finished in 22nd, it means she must be progressing at a rapid pace! I found her skating quite enjoyable here - she has very good lutz technique and has beautiful flexibility and arm movements. Then there's Mirai, Christina Gao, Kanako, Polina Shelepen, Anna Ovcharova, Ksenia, the other little Russian girl (Elizaveta?) to watch out for these next few years. So far I'm liking what i see from these youngins though

Yuna appears to be really healthy this year - she has this radiant, glowing quality about her and physically she looks very fit, not as frail as she used to look. You are right about the young skaters though, there are a lot of up and comers so who knows what could happen. I didn't realized Min-Jung Kwak went to Jr Worlds last year and finished in 22nd, it means she must be progressing at a rapid pace! I found her skating quite enjoyable here - she has very good lutz technique and has beautiful flexibility and arm movements. Then there's Mirai, Christina Gao, Kanako, Polina Shelepen, Anna Ovcharova, Ksenia, the other little Russian girl (Elizaveta?) to watch out for these next few years. So far I'm liking what i see from these youngins though

Min-Jung wasn't even the gold medalist at the South Korean National Championships this year as well.... a 12 year old girl beat her (significantly) with a perfect short program with a 3Lz+2T combo, 3F, 2A (of course), and all level 3 or 4 elements... and a long program that contends in difficulty with the top skaters in the world. Unfortunately because of her age, her only competitions have been at the National Championships. Her family name is Kim as well, so she really could be the second Queen

If she sticks around for Sochi, no one else will even have a chance of catching her...

I disagree!

Although, I do wish YuNa stays around to skate and continues to improve. I do want her to start incorporating programs with the 3Lo again. I want her to grow technically (at least with the 3Lo) while improving on her artistry, and being willing to try new things in new programs, push her boundaries some more. I don't want to see a re-hash of the same layouts. But to be honest, in order for her to grow as a figure skater, the best thing I can imagine for her is to take a break and live a little life away from figure skating, maybe even away from her parents. Actually attend her school and broaden her horizons, grow personally. I don't necessarily want her to keep competing and keep winning, and I hope that kind of goal now takes a backseat for YuNa and her team. I want to see something like a Michelle Kwan Aranjuez! (that's my dream!!)

In addition, I do hope that her rivals also continue to improve and grow. I hope Mao continues on her rebound trajectory and really develops into the kind of skater she showed potential for only a few years ago. Mirai is bound to become sensational, too. I know this will make it harder for YuNa to retain her #1 spot! But like I said, I don't necessarily want for YuNa to keep winning...I want her and her competitors to get better and better.

No pressure, guys! YuNa has nothing to prove and hopefully her goals will not be centred around pure competition. That's the deepest wish of my heart.

I think she meant the pressure of the Olympics at 16. What a nice interview, she sounds like such a lovely girl!

I do think Yuna is a bit too generous with Kwak. Yuna at 16 broke the world record in SP at world championship and came in 3rd. Being at world championshjip is no picnic, especially with injuries. Also, if you compare Kwak current SP with Yuna's Tango de Roxanne, there is no comparison. However, it is rather nice of her to say that about Kwak. I doubt that Kwak will ever even medal at a senior competition, let alone win.

As for Mirai, as much as I like her, I doubt that she'll ever develop the kind of power and textbook technique in jumps that Yuna has. I also do not think Mirai will become a sophisticated artist. However, I do think she'll do very well in the future, even world and Olympic medals.

If she decides to keep competing at the level she is now, the biggest battle for Sochi won't be against other competitors, it will be against her body. She's already suffered through years of pain and training and has earned the most well-deserved OGM I've ever witnessed... but if she wants another OGM in 4 years, I can't see how her body would hold up doing countless more 3Lz combinations, and then adding in a 3A as well? It would definitely be exciting to see her at another Olympics... and after discovering that there's another 12 year old phenom coming from Korea who won Nationals there this year, there could even eventually be some action at their Nationals (for ladies at least)... but it would be more realistic for Yu-Na to not compete in the Grand Prix circuit all 4 of the years leading up to Sochi and to train primarily for Worlds so she can stay injury free. *fingers crossed*

My money is on her not coming back after the worlds. The physical toll this type of training has on a body for another four years is one thing, but more importantly, it would be difficult for her or anyone to be mentally focused on a goal she's already achieved. But I would not rule out her coming back in 2014, if she feels she is still competitive (and that would depends on who is on top at that time), and if she finds she still has the urge to compete.

My money is on her not coming back after the worlds. The physical toll this type of training has on a body for another four years is one thing, but more importantly, it would be difficult for her or anyone to be mentally focused on a goal she's already achieved. But I would not rule out her coming back in 2014, if she feels she is still competitive (and that would depends on who is on top at that time), and if she finds she still has the urge to compete.

I think Yu-Na will always have an urge to compete, because she is a strong competitor by nature I'd definitely love to see her back in 2014, but definitely don't think she needs to compete in every Grand Prix circuit or World Championship from now until then to do it. I think that is too much to ask of anyone, IMHO. And that's not coming from just a spectator. And since I lost my ability to really skate again due to an illness, I'd hate to see Yu-Na or any skater wind up suffering an injury that takes them off the ice for good. We really don't know what kind of long term affects this type of training (3+3 combinations, 3As, 2A+3Ts, even the spins and positions required in spirals, etc.) will have on these young athletes. Women have not been competing at this intense of a level for very long, and the way it affects their bodies as they become adults, and eventually reach their 30's, 40's, etc. It's really a big unknown if it could be seriously damaging in the long run ... it's almost like seeing the medical trials of a new medicine and wondering what kind of affects it will have down the road and these young women are our guinea pigs for it.

Aside from that, I think Yu-Na also deserves some time back in her home country. I'm sure it would mean the world to the Korean people to be able to see their idol in person, performing shows there and not just competing. They have been so supportive of her, and Yu-Na has been equally charitable in her donations and strong in living up to their expectations... she deserves a victory lap in her home country, and her fans would love it. Yu-Na would also make a great cultural ambassador for South Korea, much like some of the Korean idols of the past. BoA was hailed for her dominance in Asia, being declared Best of Asia, by her fans... but now the entire globe knows Yu-Na Kim and her popularity extends far beyond the Asian borders. Whatever she chooses to do, I'm sure she will make an impact.

I do think Yuna is a bit too generous with Kwak. Yuna at 16 broke the world record in SP at world championship and came in 3rd. Being at world championshjip is no picnic, especially with injuries. Also, if you compare Kwak current SP with Yuna's Tango de Roxanne, there is no comparison. However, it is rather nice of her to say that about Kwak. I doubt that Kwak will ever even medal at a senior competition, let alone win.

As for Mirai, as much as I like her, I doubt that she'll ever develop the kind of power and textbook technique in jumps that Yuna has. I also do not think Mirai will become a sophisticated artist. However, I do think she'll do very well in the future, even world and Olympic medals.

I think Kwak might just be a later bloomer than Yuna was. She reminds me of Christina Gao. You are right, Kwak might never win international medals but I think there is a chance she could, I really enjoy her skating a lot and her jump technique for the lutz is very good, plus her flexibility is even better than Mirai's! The other thing is that she was 22nd at Jr Worlds last year and just finished 13th at the Olympics...she is clearly making rapid progress. At 4CC she got 101 points for her FS and her previous season's best was 67, if she can make that much progress in such a short amount of time it says something promising about the girl.